BSD #13: ‘Memento’

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 flapping Polaroids
I avoided it because of hype, but Memento lives up to it.

For episode 13, Duncan hosts an Dajuan-less show as the Blast Shields Down Film Review Society gets down and dirty with Christopher Nolan’s Memento. Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, a man who is searching for the man who raped and killed his wife. Just to gum up the film noir works, Leonard can’t produce long-term memories since her death, suffering from a form of amnesia that doctors refer to as Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates Disease. The film follows Leonard’s memory spurts from blackout to blackout backwards. Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix) and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) co-star, helping Leonard’s search … or are they?

It’s a mind-flayer of a movie, and it leads the Blasters to discuss amnesia as a plot device, revenge, how Chris Nolan is fixing American cinema, and whether Lenny has problems beyond anterograde amnesia. And, if we can teach you anything, why you should never attack a guy in the shower. Those reasons have nothing to do with the warning for every BSD episode:

WARNING: Blast Shields Down film reviews are full of naughty language, infuriating opinions, spoilers, and … Wait, did I mention there are spoilers? Listener discretion is advised.

And if you’re listening (which imbues membership in the Film Society), join the discussion by contacting us:

Rick Snee is proposal writer who writes comedy and movie reviews. He celebrates the worst elements of the English language on Twitter (@rick_snee). When not writing, he is either bowling, drinking, or podcasting with the Blast Shields Down Film Review Society.